In my last post, I talked about how every yoga practice is different. Some days you have outstanding balance; other days, it takes all you have to stay in tree pose for more than two breaths.
Experiencing and being aware of such differences will help you to more completely understand your body. Through this understanding, you will be able to determine which poses, and ultimately, which type of yoga is best for you.
In my own practice, I have found that my most noticeable (and most consistent) yoga variant is the way my body feels in a morning yoga class and the way it feels in an afternoon or evening yoga class. In the morning, it takes me much longer to get into the yoga flow. (For beginners, a “flow” is a sequence of yoga postures that is usually repeated throughout the class.) I am almost always stiffer in the morning than I am in the evening. For this reason, I find myself heading to afternoon and evening yoga classes more often than morning classes.
Of course, this isn’t an option for everyone. For most people, morning seems to be the most convenient time for a yoga class. Not to mention, a little exercise in the morning always seems to start the day on a good note.
My recommendation for those of you who wish to stick to a morning yoga routine is to practice a slow moving flow that emphasizes flexibility. This will help you to ease away any morning stiffness.
Tara Stiles offers a number of yoga flow options on her youtube channel. One of my personal favorites is called Morning Yoga for Flexibility. This particular flow is perfect for releasing morning tension and tightness. Click the link, and try it out for yourself!
Maddy Beauregard | Yoga Contributor
